A Charlie Brown Christmas is the first animated television special based on the popular newspaper comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz, and also the first Christmas special for the franchise. Acme is proud to ask you to join us in watching the perennial showing of this depressing little special.
The original broadcast included some brief animated sections which included the logo of Coca-Cola, the show's original sponsor. These have been edited out of subsequent broadcasts and the video release. Right after the opening title, Linus crashed into a sign advertising Coca-Cola after being tossed by Snoopy. The closing carol originally included the complete verse (instead of fading out) with a final on-screen "Merry Christmas from your local bottler of Coca-Cola" right after the United Feature Syndicate credit at the end.
A short documentary about the development of the Charlie Brown Christmas special: A Christmas Miracle: The Making of A Charlie Brown Christmas -
When they first saw the show, CBS executives were horrified at the idea of an animated Christmas special with such a blatant message. They also strongly objected to the fact that the show had no canned laughter. In addition, they greeted Vince Guaraldi's jazz score as an intrusion in the special that audiences would never accept. However, when CBS learned to their astonishment of the special's spectacular ratings earned on its initial broadcast and the glowing reviews for it, the network promptly contracted the producers for more specials.
A Charlie Brown Christmas Vince Guaraldi Trio -
Producer Lee Mendelson wrote the lyrics for Vince Guaraldi's Christmas Time is Here music, and his son Glenn, along with his then sixth-grade class, sang the vocals.
Christmas Charlie Brown mashups
In honor of our depressed little pal: Let's all get in the mood and have a depressing Christmas -
1913 Massacre Woody Guthrie -
Trust me just don't listen to the song! This song is about a true event. Guthrie wrote in many different styles, and was very effective at telling a story in the form of a song. Anna Canoni, who is a director at the Woody Guthrie Foundation and Archives, explains: "The telling of a specific story is what is very evident in Woody's songwriting in general. There's a song called "1913 Massacre," where he talks about this one specific event. It is one of the most moving songs that I have ever heard. It's absolutely amazing. This is also one that Woody recorded, it's very powerful hearing him sing it. It is a song about miners having their holiday party, when the bossmen hanging around outside yell into the party room that there is a fire and then locked the door. In an attempt to escape, everyone raced towards the door and because it was locked, 73 children died in the stampede. And it was this practical joke, this mocking moment, that struck a chord with him."
River Joni Mitchell -
At the start of 1970, Joni Mitchell's relationship with her boyfriend Graham Nash was crumbling. On top of this, she was feeling increasingly uncomfortable with the mass adulation her recordings were receiving. The songstress needed to get away, so she took off on a trip to Europe, metaphorically skating away on a river to escape the crazy scene. While Mitchell was in Crete, she sent Nash a telegram to tell him their romance was over.
I Was Thinking I Could Clean Up for Christmas Aimee Mann-
You know what, maybe may not want to listen to this one
Pretty Paper Roy Orbinson -
This was written by Willie Nelson, who at the time was a successful songwriter but relatively unknown performer. It's a Christmas song where the singer goes about preparing for the holiday, but notices an unfortunate homeless person who can't afford the luxuries of the season. Unsure how to handle this, the singer decides he is just too busy and carries on with his preparations.
And what could be the saddest Christmas song written:
Christmas Eve Can Kill You -
Christmas, I love you but you're bringing me down.
Before you go - since you're in the mood, let's all get together and listen to William S Burroughs read his Christmas story, The.Junky's Christmas.
Francis Ford Coppola produced this short Claymation film based on William S. Burroughs short story The Junky’s Christmas. The piece was directed by Nick Donkin and Melodie McDaniel.
Demand Euphoria!
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